William h



(No Model.)

W. H. NOYES.

SHAFT TUS FOR HARNESS.

Patente-d Mafr. 16, 1886.

- to the thill, and provided at the top with W'ILLIAM H. NOYES, OF ROCHESTER, NE\V YORK.

SHAFT-TUG FOR HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,982, dated March 16, 1886.

Application filed December Q9, 1835.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. NoYEs, of the city of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shaft- Tugs for Harness; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the drawings accompanying this application.

Hy improvement relates to that class of shafttugs for holding thills in which the tug is made of metal in parts properly secured together, being leather-lined to prevent injury means by which a buckle can be attached to connect the loop with the harness. Various devices of this kind are known.

My invention consistsin aspecial construction of the top of the halves of the tug by which a common tongued buckle can be attached and held securely in place; also animproved construction of the bottom with a lapjoint and a lug-connection for securing the parts at that point, all as hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the tug partially in section. Fig. 2 is a side View of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the tops of the two sections of the tug separated. Fig. 4c' is a cross-section of one section in line a: :r of Fig. l, showing more particularly the means for connecting the boxloop. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views showing the lug and socket for connecting the sections at the bottom.

The tug is made of cast metal in two halfsections, A A, which are secured together at the top by self-locking devices when the ordinary buckle is applied, and secured at the bottom by a lap-joint with lug and socket and a connecting-screw, as will be more fully explained. The top of each section is constructed with an open hook, a, on one side of a little more than a half-circle. In the center is a concave socket, c, to receive the base of the buckle-tongue,and ou the other side of the top of the section is a bearing or lug, b, which stands up some distance and is concave on its inner face to receive the inner face of the hook ofthe other section and form a bearing thereto. The hook and lug of one section are on (No model.)

the opposite sides Ifrom those of the other section, so that when the parts are brought into position they will connect properly and make a complete bearing for the buckle.

O is the buckle, which is of the ordinary kind long in use, consisting of a rectangular loop and provided with a tongue.

One object of myinvention is to so construct the top of the sections that form the tug that a common buckle can be attached thereto and have free movement therein,and when in place lock the parts together so that the sections cannot separate nor get out of line laterally, all without the use of screws or any other means of connection.

To attach the buckle, the hooks a a of the sections are hooked over the base of the buckleframe, one on one side and the other on the other side of the buckle-tongue, the circular base of the buckletongue resting in the central cavity, c, which allows itsufficient play. Vhen the parts are so fitted, the inner face of the hook a on one section, restsfand abuts against the inner concave face of the lug b of the other section, and vice versa, which completes the bearing and makes a continuous socket to the buckle the whole width of the tug. In this manner a common buckle can be attached and have free movement, and it serves as a lock to the upper end of the tug when the bottom is fastened in place.

Buckles have before been used in connection with a sectional loop, but the method of attachment has been different from that above described. The connection at the bottom is made as follows: One of the sections A is provided with a projection, d, that forms a lap, and the other section is provided with a socket or cavity, f, into which this lap fits when the parts are closed. The ends of the sections abut and form shoulders g, and the `joint may be at the bottom, but preferably somewhat on the inside, as shown in Fig. l, by which means thejoint is out of sight.

On the under side of the lap, d, is made a projecting lug, h, and in the bottom of the socket, f,is made a corresponding depression, t'. \Vhen the parts are closed together, the lug strikes into the depression. The rear sides of the lug and depression have square IOO shoulders, which prevent the parts separating by back action. The front portions of the lug and depression are inclined, as shown. 7c is a small screw, which passes through the side of the tug and strikes into the lug h and binds it down to place in the depression. The head of the screw comes on the back sideof the tug, where it is out of sight.

By the construction above described the lower end of the tug is more securely fastened than where the ends simply abut and are se cured by screws, the lap serving as a stiffener both longitudinally and laterally, and by setting down flush in the socket in which it rests the lap presents a smooth surface over the top in which can rest the leather lining of the tug. The square shoulder h of the lug resting in the depression i takes all the strain, so that no strain comes on the screw, the latter serving simply as a connector to hold the parts together.

The two sections A A are provided with inwardly-projecting flanges m m at their edges, which extend all around, and a leather lining, D, is tted inside, which makes a finish and presents a smooth and soft wearing-surface to the thill.

In the sides of the flanges m m, ou one of the sections, are made slots p p, and through these slots are passed the ends of the leather box-loop E, said ends being attached to the metal by staples, as shown, or in some equivalent manner.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The shaft-tug for harness consisting of the two metallic sections A A, each constructed at its top with an open hook, a, on one side, a socket, c, in the center, and a concave bearing-lug, b, lon the other side,v the hooks and lugs alternating in the two sections, the whole so arranged, as herein described, that a common buckle can be attached, the hooks engaging the buckle on opposite sides of its tongue, and the hook of one section resting against the lug ofV the other section, as herein set forth.

2. The shaftetug for harness consisting of the two sections A A, one section having a projecting lap, d, at the bottom, and the other section a corresponding cavity, f, to receive it, the lap provided with a lug, h, on its under side, and the cavity with a depression, fi, to receive it, and a screw, k, passing in through the side of the tug and entering the lug to secure the parts together, as herein shown and described.

3. The shaft-tug for harness consisting of the two sections A A, provided with hooks a a and bearings b b at the top for the connection of a common buckle, one section provided with a lap, d, at the bottom fitting in a cavity of the other section, and secured by a screw, and provided with anges at the edges slotted on one side to receive a box loop or guard, as herein shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed l my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. i

WILLIAM H. NOYES. llitnes'scs:

R. F. OsGooD,

I). A. CosfrIcH. 

